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October 11, 1954, Montbazens, Aveyron:

Reference for this case: 11-oct-54-Montbazens.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

In his 1958 book on the 1954 saucers flap in France, Aimé Michel reported that around 10:00 p.m., six inhabitants of the village of Montbazens, in the Aveyron, were working in the garage of Mr. Carrière, mechanic, when the latter asked his son Bernard, 17, to give him some tools. The boy had to pass near a window and there, he saw that the night was lit by a very strong glow in the neighboring meadow.

The boy shouted that there was a fire at the neighbor's house, Mr. Gimeno, and the six men, Mr. Carrière, his son, Mr. Gardelle, a farmer, Mr. Nevoltry, farmer, Mr. Gineste, shoemaker, and Mr. Rosière, retired, "all men of good sense, strong nerves and little inclination to the saucers" all rushed out.

The six men then discovered that an object had landed in the meadow behind Mr. Gimeno's house. The object was round, about 4 meters in diameter, and radiated a powerful red glow. The witnesses stopped at this sight, hesitant.

One of the witnesses, Mr. Gardelle, decided to have a closer look, but as soon as he took a few steps, the craft took off without any noise, at a tremendous speed, and disappeared. The witnesses saw that Mr. Gardelle had brought his hand to his forehead and had begun to stagger, so they ran to help him. He was suffocating and concussed. When he recovered, the six men walked toward the landing spot, but found no visible trace. The whole event lasted about two minutes.

The investigation group LDLN ("Lumières Dans La Nuit") of the Aveyron department investigated this case in the 1970s: it did take place on October 11, 1954, in Montbazens, it was published at the time by newspapers, such as Le Parisien Libéré and La Dépêche de Toulouse for October 13, 1954, Paris-Presse for October 14, 1954, in the form that the LDLN investigators summarize as follows:

A 4-meter-diameter round craft landed in a meadow, emitting a powerful red light, then took off with tremendous acceleration. At that moment, the witnesses, MM. Career and his son, Mr. Gineste, shoemaker, and two other people approached and Mr. Gardelle "felt an electric shock."

The LDLN group learned that a young ufologist, Mr. Canourgues, went on the spot with ufologists Chasseigne and Lourenço. As soon as they arrived, Canourgues had learned that the whole story was just a prank. Just by meeting Mr. Carrière, he immediately realized that he was dealing with a prankster, considered as such in the country. He did confess the farce in a tone leaving no possible doubt.

Among the witnesses, several were in collusion, the others were fooled. Mr. Carrière, mechanic, had used all the resources of his profession to make the illusion perfect.

To complicate matters, some sources write "Montbazin", which is in the Hérault department; others write "Montbazons", a non-existent commune. Some even write "Monbazin" and "Montaren"... Many continue to publish the case as if it had not been explained as a prank.

Reports:

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel indicates that at about 10:00 p.m., six inhabitants of the village of Montbazens, in the Aveyron, were working in the garage owned by Mr. Carrière, when the latter asked his son Bernard, aged 17, to hand him some tool. The boy had to pass near a window and there, he saw that the night was lightened up by a very strong gleam in the nearby field. The boy shouted that there is a fire at the house of the neighbor, Mr. Gimeno, and the six men, Mr. Carrière, Mr. Carrière's son, Mr. Gardelle, farmer, Mr. Nevoltry, farmer, Mr. Gineste, shoemaker, and Mr. Rosière, retired, "all men of good common sense, of strong nerves and not inclined to saucermania" all rushed out.

The six men then discovered that an object had landed in the field behind Mr. Gimeno's house. The object was round, of about 4 meters in diameter, and irradiated a powerful red gleam. The witnesses stopped at the sight, hesitating.

One of the witnesses, Mr. Gardelle, decided to get closer, but as soon as he walked a few steps, the craft took off without any noise, at a tremendous speed, and disappeared. The witnesses saw that Mr. Gardelle had put his hand at his forehead and started to fall down, so they run to help him. He was suffocating and shocked. When he recovered, the six men walked at the landing spot, but found no visible traces. The entire event lasted about two minutes.

Aimé Michel specifies that the case has nothing to do with the one in Montbazin in the Hérault.

He put the sighting location on a map supposed to demonstrate cases are lined up:

[Ref. mcs1:] "MICHEL CARROUGES":

The author notes that the Gardelle observation lasted 2 minutes.

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. lcp1:] LEONARD G. CRAMP:

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. jve3:] JACQUES VALLEE:

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

The author indicates that on October 11, 1954, in Monbazin in the Hérault, a luminous disc of 5 meters in diameter was seen on the ground. An "operator" was observed.

The author then indicates that on October 11, 1954, at 10 o'clock in the morning, Montbazens in Aveyron, a round apparatus 4 meters in diameter lands in a pasture. He projects a powerful red light and flies away with a formidable acceleration when witnesses approach some.

[Ref. rsd1:] RAY STANFORD:

In his book about the famous UFO landing in Socorro, Ray Stanford indicates a number of other sightings of egg-shaped craft that may be significant in this regard.

Among those cases, he indicates that on October 9, 1954, between Montaren and Uzes, France, a doctor and a farmer, plus six other persons saw a brilliant ellipsoidal object oscillating in the air at a short distance above the ground.

[Ref. ioi1:] "INFO-OVNI" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:

The to authors indicate that the case of October 11, 1954, in Montbazen, was a prank, exposed by the investigation of ufologists of the Lumières Dans La Nuit group.

[Ref. fle1:] FRANCOIS LAGARDE / GROUPE LDLN:

In the collective book of the LDLN group, it is specified about the case of October 11, 1954, in Montbazens, that it was published at the time by the newspapers "Le Parisien Libéré" for October 13, 1954, "Paris-Presse" for October 14, 1954 and "La Dépêche de Toulouse" for October 13, 1954 and others, in the form that the authors summarize as follows:

A round machine of 4 meters in diameter lands in a meadow. It released a powerful red light and took off with a formidable acceleration; it is at this time there that the witnesses, Mr. Carrière and his son, and Mr. Gineste, shoe-maker, and two other people approached. Mr. Gardelle "felt an electric discharge."

The authors inform that a young ufologist, Mr. Canourgues, gave an account of what he discovered on the location with ufologists Chasseigne, and Lourenço and how he discovered that the case is cruelly disappointing.

On their their arrival they indeed at once learned that all the story is only a well done prank. A soon as meeting Mr. Carrière, he immediately realized that the man is a prankster, and in the country, everyone considered him as a prankster. Mr. Carrière acknowledged in person the prank on a tone not leaving any possible doubt.

Among the witnesses, several were in complicity, the others were fooled.

Chasseigne and Lourenço whom assisted with the investigation came to the same conclusion.

Car mechanic Carrière had used all the resources of his workshop so that the illusion was perfect.

The authors of the book indicate that such examples show the little credit which can be granted to journalistic information as long as a serious investigation is not made on the location, and that obviously at the time when the saucer flap of 1954, nobody was prepared with such an multitude of sightings and to check them all at the time was quite simply impossible.

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that in Montbazens in the Aveyron, on October 11, 1954 at 10 p.m., Mr. Carrière and six workmen observed a round apparatus posed on the ground emitting a powerful red light.

The six witnesses were intrigued by a gleam when they discovered the apparatus posed on the ground. One of the six witnesses wanted to approach but he felt an "electric shock" when the apparatus took off without noise at a tremendous speed.

The authors indicate that actually, a counter-investigation by L.D.L.N. published in "Mystérieuses Soucoupes Volantes" proved that Mr. Carrière, a mechanic, had benefitted from his hardware to fool his friends.

The sources are listed as case 240 in the Vallée catalogue, Aimé Michel in "Mystérieux Objets Célestes" page 275 and "A Propos des Soucoupes Volantes" page 201; "Mystérieuses Soucoupes Volantes" by the LDLN Group with François Lagarde et Jacques Vallée, "INFO OVNI: Le Lapin et le Renard" by the Group 03100; Le Parisien for 10/13/1954 and Paris-Presse for 10/14/1954.

[Ref. bbr2:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

[Ref. mft3:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

[Ref. mft2:] FRANCAT - MICHEL FIGUET:

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that in 1954, on October 11, in France in Montbazens, a round machine 4 m in diameter lands in a meadow. It released a powerful red light and took off with a formidable acceleration when the witnesses Carrière, mechanic, Gardelle, farmer, Ginestre, shoemaker, and two other people approached. Mr. Gardelle felt an electric shock.

The source for this is indicated as Jacques Vallée: "Chronique des apparitions ET" - Denoël 1972 - Coll. J'AI LU - p. 277, 278).

Godelieve van Overmeire adds that actually, an investigation by L.D.L.N. showed that the mechanic Carrière had used his hardware to fool several of his friends.

The source for this is indicated as "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 146 and 667."

[Ref. uma1:] "UFOMANIA" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE:

[Ref. tgn1:] THIERRY GAULIN, OVNI-LANGUEDOC:

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

Donald Johnson indicates that on October 11, 1954, at 8:00 p.m. in Montbazens, France a round craft, four meters in diameter, landed in a pasture. It gave off a powerful red light and took off with extreme acceleration when witnesses (garage owner Mr. Carriere and son; farmer Mr. Gardelle, shoemaker Mr. Ginestre, and two others) came close to it. Mr. Gardelle felt an electric shock.

The sources are indicated as Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 226.

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jérôme Jerome Beau indicates that on Monday, October 11, 1954, at 22:00 in Montbazens, France, "1 round machine, 4 m in diameter, lands in a meadow. It releases 1 powerful red light and takes off with a formidable acceleration when the witnesses (Mr. Carrière (mechanic) and its son, Mr. Gardelle (farmer), Mr. Ginestre (shoemaker) and 2 other people), approach. Mr. Gardelle feels an electric discharge."

Jérôme Beau indicates that his sources are Le Parisien, October 13, 1954; Paris-Presse, October 14, 1954.

[Ref. mps1:] MICHEL PADRINES:

Michel Padrines indicates that on Monday, October 11, 1954, at 22:00 in Montbazens, France, one round machine, 4 m in diameter, lands in a meadow. It releases 1 powerful red light and takes off with a formidable acceleration when the witnesses (Mr. Carrière, mechanic, and its son, Mr. Gardelle, farmer, Mr. Ginestre, shoemaker, and two other people), approach. Mr. Gardelle feels an electric discharge.

Michel Padrines indicates that his sources are Le Parisien, October 13, 1954; Paris-Presse, October 14, 1954.

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in Montbazens in the Aveyron on October 11, 1954 "Towards 22:00, six residents of the village worked in the garage of Mr. Carrière, mechanic, when the latter asked his son Bernard, 17-year-old, to pass a certain tool to him. The boy had to pass near a window and there, he saw that the night was lit by a very strong gleam in the neighboring meadow. The boy shouted that there is a fire at the neighbor's house, Mr. Gimeno, and the six men, Mr. Carrière, his son, Mr. Gardelle, a farmer, Mr. Nevoltry, farmer, Mr. Gineste, shoe-maker, and Mr. Rosière, pensioner, "all sensible men, of solid nerves and not very inclined to saucermania" all rushed outside."

"The six men then discovered that an object had landed in the meadow behind Mr. Gimeno's house. The object was round, approximately 4 meters in diameter, and irradiated a powerful red gleam. The witnesses stopped at its sight, hesitating."

"One of the witnesses, Mr. Gardelle, decided to go to see more closely, but as soon as he had walked a few steps, the machine took off without any noise, at an enormous speed, and disappeared. The witnesses saw that Mr. Gardelle had carried his hand to his face and had started to stagger, thus they ran to help him. He was suffocating and was commotioned. When he recovered, the six men went towards the place of the landing, but did not find any visible trace. The whole event lasted approximately two minutes."

And: "Actually a hoax by the garage owner."

Luc Chastan notes: "This is case to be dismissed because: Masquerade of a third party".

The sources are given as "List of the Magonia cases by Jacques Vallée; Les OVNI vus de près by Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net; M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958."

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 11 October 1954 at 22:00 in Montbazens, France, the case was a prank.

"A round craft, four meters diameter, landed in a pasture. It gave off a powerful red light, took off with a formidable acceleration when witnesses (garage owner Mr. Carriere and son; Mr. Gardelle, farmer; Mr. Ginestre, shoemaker; and two others) came close to it. Mr. Gardelle felt "an electric shock.""

"An object was observed. Physiological effects were noted. One red ball, about 5 feet across, was observed by six male witnesses in a yard for two minutes."

The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Cramp, Leonard G., Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, Isle of Wight, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, internet data."

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded this case 7 times:

Explanations:

Hoax.

We have:

• Montbazens, Aveyron.
• Montbazin, Hérault.
• Montbazon, Indre-et-Loire.
• Montbazons, non-existant.
• Monbazin, non-existant.
• Montaren, non-existant.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Montbazens, Aveyron, craft, object, round, landing, red, light, fast, multiple, Carrière, Gardelle, Ginestre, electric, hoax

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

• [----] Article in the regional newspaper La Dépêche de Toulouse, Toulouse, France, October 13, 1954.
• [----] Article in the national newspaper Le Parisien, France, October 13, 1954.
• [----] Article in the national newspaper Paris-Presse, France, October 14, 1954.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Arthaud publisher, France, 1958.
• [aml1] "Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery", book by Aimé Michel, S. G. Phillips publisher, USA, 1958.
• [----] "Piece for a Jig-Saw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, Somerton publishers, U-K., 1966.
• [gqy1] "Observations 1954", monograph by Guy Quincy, France - Algeria, private publication, page 15, the 1950's.
• [gqy2] "Atterrissages au XXe siècle", monograph by Guy Quincy, France - Algeria, private publication, unnumbered pages, the 1950's.
• [jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Table Ronde publisher, France, 1966.
• [aml1] "A Propos des Soucoupes Volantes", book by Aimé Michel, reprint of "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", Planète publisher, France, page 201, 1967.
• [mcs1] "Les Apparitions de Martiens", book by Michel Carrouges (aka Louis couturier), Fayard publisher, page 81, France 1963.
• [lcp1] "Piece for a Jigsaw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, Somerton Publishing Co publishers, U-K., 1966.
• [jve1] "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages", catalogue by Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #103, page 4, December 1969.
• [jve3] "Passport to Magonia - On Ufos, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, 1969.
• [jve3] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-Terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, J'Ai Lu publisher, France, pp 276-277, 1972.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "The Humanoids: a survey of world-wide reports of landings of unconventional aerial objects and their alleged occupants", book by Charles Bowen, Neville Spearman publisher, 1969.
• [jve2] Summary by Jacques Vallée in "En Quête des Humanoïdes", book by Charles Bowen, French translation of "The Humanoids", J'ai Lu publisher, France, page 51, 1974.
• [ioi1] "Le Lapin et le Renard", article in the ufology bulletin Info-OVNI, France, Series 1, #0, page 3, April 1975.
• [gal1] "Face aux Extra-Terrestres", book by Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Delarge publisher, J'ai Lu, France, page 223, 1975.
• [prn1] "The Catalogue", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, in the ufology bulletin MUFOB, U-K., New Series #3, page 8, Summer 1976.
• [fle1] "Mystérieuses Soucoupes Volantes", book by François Lagarde with Aimé Michel and Jacques Vallée and the LDLN ufology group, Albatros publisher, France, pp 144-145, 1976.
• [rsd1] "Socorro Saucer - The Closest Encounter of Them All", book by Ray Stanford, Blueapple Books publishers, USA, 1976.
• [aml1] "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", book by Aimé Michel, Seghers publisher, France, pages 218, 220, 1976.
• [rsd1] "Socorro Saucer - The Closest Encounter of Them All", book by Ray Stanford, Fontana-Collins publishers, U-K., page 146, 1978.
• [jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Robert Laffont publisher, France, page 250, 1978.
• [fru1] "OVNI, Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, page 667, 1979.
• [bbr2] "Le ressac d'une vague", article by Jacques Brucker and Gérard Barthel, in the ufology magazine Inforespace, SOBEPS, Belgium, Special Issue #3, page 41, December 1979.
• [mft3] "ATTERRISSAGES D'UFO sur le continent français du 26 septembre 1954 au 18 octobre 1954", liste par Michel Figuet dans le magazine d'ufologie Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #249-250, page 26, March / April 1985.
• [mft1] "Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (Listing 800 1982) (2 - Suite)", list compiled by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #257-258, page 18, November - December 1985.
• [mft2] "Catalogue Francat Des Rencontres Rapprochées en France - Listing 800 - 1982 - 6 - Suite et Fin", list compiled by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #265-266, page 20, July / August 1986.
• [lcp1] "UFOs and Anti-Gravity: Piece for a Jigsaw", book by Leonard G. Cramp, Adventures Unlimited Press publishers, U-K., page 298, 1997.
• [goe1] "Chronologie OVNI", web page compiled by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 2003, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/chron13.html
• [----] "Computerized Catalog", compiled by Luis Schoenherr.
• [uma1] ""1954 dans l’Hérault", article in the ufology magazine UFOmania, France, #41, page 26, autumn 2004.
• [tgn1] "1954 - 2004 - De la Grande Vague à la Commémoration", article by Thierry Gaulin, OVNI-Languedoc, France, 2004, sur www.studiovni.com/arttg02.htm.
• [djn1] "Encounters With Aliens On This Day - October 11", compiled by Donald A. Johnson, USA, circa 2005, at www.ufoinfo.com/onthisday/October11.html.
• [jbu1] "Lundi 11 octobre 1954", web page compiled by Jérôme Beau, France, RR0 website, circa 2006, at rr0.org/data/1/9/5/4/10/11/index.html
• [mps1] "Générations UFO", book by Michel Padrines, self-published, France, page 125, December 2006.
• [lcn1] Base OVNI France, website by Luc Chastan, France, circa 2005, at baseovnifrance.free.fr/listgen.php?typlist=1&page=0&numobs=230
• [uda1] "11 Oct 1954 - Montbazens, France", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf9/189114.htm
• [nip1] List on The NICAP Website, USA, found in 2014, at http://www.nicap.org/reports/1954_ufocat.htm
• [ubk1] Online database UFO-Datenbank, Germany, found in 2016, at ufodatenbank.de

Document history:

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